Improvement in gr



traina eine Letters Patent o. 93,247, Ia-tell August 3, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAPPLES.

The Schedine referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN F. THOMAS, of Ilion, Herkimer county, New York, have invented a new and improved Grapple; and l do hereby declare 'that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to .the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same devices in all the figures.

To enable others skilled in thc arts to comprehend, make, and use my invention, I will proc-ced to describe its nature, construction, and operation.

The nature of my invention consists in the employment of two independent links, each being attached, at one end, to one of the hooks of the grapple, but joined together at their other ends, where the rope is attached, so that the lilik and hook, on one side of the grapple, may'act to acertain extent independent of the link and hook on the other side of the grapple.

Figure l is an elevation ot' my grapple, with the hooks separated, as it' about to be applied to some object.

Figure 2 is the same, applied to a beam or rafter, as it should be for the purpose of sustaining a hay- 'ork for unloading hay.

Figure 3 is an edge elevation of my improved grapple.

a and c' are hooks.

b, connecting-bar.

c and c', links.

d, ring for the attachment of' a rope or pulley-block.

eand c', joints which connect the' links with the hooks.

tand i', joints between the connecting-bail and the hooks. f

n, joint which connects the two links together.

7.', section of a beam or rafter.

o and o', points of the hooks.

My invention refers to that kind of grapple which is used for making fast to any object, such as the rafters of a barn, for the purpose of sustaining a hayfork for unloading hay, or foryany other use to which the invention may be applied; and

Its object is the construction of a grapple, which shall hold firmly under all circumstances, whether the force be applied at right angles to a line drawn from point to point of the hooks, or at any other angle.

In the position of the part-s of the grapple represented in iig. l, the hooksact as levers, the power being at c and e', the fulcra at 'i and fi', and the-weight at o and o', but in the position of the part-s as represented iniig. 2, thev hook a' loses almost entirely its character as a lever, and takes that of an independent hook, and would sustain the weight if the other link .Itmay be straight, reaching direct from i to i', with just sutcient lateral curve to work freely by the side of the hooks.

When the grapple is applied to a beam, as shown in tig. 2, the point-s penetrate the timber in proportion to the amount of force applied to the hooks through v the links, so that the greater the force, the greater the degree oftirmness with which it grasps any object.

Having described my invention,

4That I desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent of the United States,.is-A

Pivoting the connecting-bar b to the hooks a and c', between the points o and o', and the joints c and c',

substantially as set forth.

JOHN THOMAS.

XVitnesses:

WM. H. ELLro'r, F. O. SHEPARD. 

